1. Japanese Nuclear Accident And U.S. Response
April 5, 2011
Thank you for joining us for this briefing.
NEI in conjunction with our member companies have been striving to provide timely information that is as accurate as possible during the Japanese nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi. We have received information from Tokyo Electric Power Company (the owner of the affected units), the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum which is our sister agency in Japan, the Japan Electric Association, the US Department of Energy and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission along with other companies and organizations.
In addition, the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations which is an internal industry oversight organization through the World Association of Nuclear Operators, has been working to obtain specific technical information and lessons learned from the Fukushima site to ensure the U.S. nuclear plants will have access to the information from the events and can develop lessons learned as quickly as possible.
We cannot say enough about the courage and determination of the personnel working at the Fukushima Daiichi site. They may not know the status of their homes and families after the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami, but remain focused on their jobs to protect the health and safety of the public. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and all of the people of Japan affected by these events. Our industry is helping with technical support, supplies and equipment as requested by the Japanese.

2. Nuclear Energy in Japan
54 operating nuclear reactors (49 gigawatts)
Two nuclear plants under construction
Tokyo Electric Power Co. produces 27% of Japan’s electricity
12,000 MW of nuclear energy capacity shut down

3. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Before the Accident
Units 5, 6
Unit 1
Unit 2
6 Units 1-4 on the left, 5 and 6 on the right in the northeast corner of the slide.
All boiling water reactors. Units 1-3 were operating and units 4-6 were already shut-down for maintenance and refueling outages.
Unit 3
Unit 4
At the time of the earthquake
Reactors 1, 2 and 3 operating
Reactors 4, 5 and 6 shutdown for maintenance, inspection, refueling

4. Boiling Water Reactor Design & Fukushima Daiichi Status
At Fukushima Daiichi
Secondary Containment
Spent Fuel Pool
Steel Containment Vessel
Reactor Vessel
Primary Containment
BWR design used for all of the plants at Fukushima Daiichi site.
Primary containment – where the reactor is located, pressure vessel, release pressure through controlled venting and circulate water to cool the fuel
Secondary containment – not a pressure vessel (has blow-out panels to direct impact away from the primary containment), houses the spent fuel pool
Suppression Pool (Torus)

5. U.S. Nuclear Plants Are Safe
“Our nuclear power plants have undergone exhaustive study, and have been declared safe for any number of extreme contingencies. ”
President Barack Obama
March 17, 2011
“All the plants in the United States are designed to deal with a wide range of natural disasters, whether it’s earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, other seismic events. We require all of them to deal with those.”
NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko

6. Radiological Safety in the U.S.
“EPA has stepped up monitoring of precipitation, milk and drinking water…..the levels detected have been far below public-health concern.”
EPA statement, April 4, 2011
“At this time, CDC does not recommend that people in the United States take KI or iodine supplements in response to the nuclear power plant explosions in Japan”
Center for Disease Control website, April 5, 2011
“Therefore, based on current data, we feel confident that there is no reason for concern in the United States regarding radioactive releases from Japan.”
NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko, March 30, 2011

7. Emergency Planning for U.S. Nuclear Energy Facilities
10-mile emergency planning zone (evacuation or sheltering); 50-mile monitoring zone for environment and food.
Radiation monitoring by plant site, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and state and local personnel from the site and surrounding areas
Decisions on public precautionary measures made by state or local authorities based on recommendations from plant operator and NRC
Emergency plan exercises in coordination with state, local, and federal officials, evaluated by the NRC and FEMA

9. U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Prepared for Extreme Events
Maximum credible earthquakes and floods
Loss of off-site power and on-site power
Hydrogen generation as a result of fuel damage during loss-of-coolant accidents
Post 9/11: aircraft impact, loss of large areas of the plant
Industry preparation, training, etc. exceed NRC requirements
U.S. industry has long history of continuous learning

10. U.S. Government Response
Multi-agency task force (Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, Department of Defense) supporting Japan recovery efforts
President Obama directed the NRC to perform a comprehensive review of U.S. reactors
NRC established agency task force to develop lessons learned from Fukushima Daiichi accident to provide short-term and long-term analysis of the events
Voluntary initiative led by INPO
We support President’s call for comprehensive review and we will take action as the lessons learned dictate
Continuous learning from events

11. U.S. Industry Taking Steps to Ensure Safety at Nuclear Power Plants
Nuclear energy industry will take short-term and long-term actions
Short-term: Verify readiness to manage extreme events
Long-term:
Careful analysis of Japanese accident and how reactors, systems, structures, components, fuel and operators performed
Incorporate lessons learned into U.S. reactor designs and operating practices

12. Short-Term Industry Actions to Ensure Safety
Verify each plant's capability to manage major challenges, such as aircraft impacts, loss of large areas of plant due to natural events, fires or explosions
Verify each plant's capability to manage loss of off-site power
Verify capability to mitigate flooding and the impact of floods on systems inside and outside the plant
Perform walk-downs and inspection of important equipment needed to respond to extreme events
Voluntary initiative led by INPO
We support President’s call for comprehensive review and we will take action as the lessons learned dictate
Continuous learning from events

13. Information Sources Nuclear Energy Institute (www.nei.org)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (
U.S. Department of Energy (
International Atomic Energy Agency (
American Nuclear Society (
Health Physics Society (
Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (
Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (
Tokyo Electric Power Company (